China’s First AI-Generated Theatrical Feature Sanxingdui: Future Past Scheduled for October 23

China’s First AI–Generated Theatrical Feature Sanxingdui: Future Past Scheduled for October 23, Marking New Milestone for AI–Driven Film Industry

Bona Film Group officially announces that Sanxingdui: Future Past, China’s first hyper-realistic theatrical feature film produced with AI technology and granted official public screening permit by National Film Administration, will hit cinemas nationwide on October 23, 2026. Running for 100 minutes, this film pioneers a brand-new movie genre blending ancient Shu civilization and futuristic science-fiction. It symbolizes that China’s AI-enabled filmmaking has evolved from experimental short-form works into commercial theatrical feature productions, representing a landmark transformation for domestic film industry.

Produced under Bona’s self-developed Boka Cloud Film Studio, the film features Jiang Defu as Producer-in-Chief, Quji Xiaojiang as Executive Producer, and Yue Ming as screenwriter and director. All characters in the movie are original digital figures with no digital replicas of real-life performers, effectively avoiding portrait-right risks. Adopting a human-led, AI-executed collaborative workflow, creative conception, narrative logic and artistic judgment are fully delivered by Bona AIGMS professional team, while AI takes charge of visual generation and technical execution instead of one-click automatic production. After two-year technical exploration, the creative team generated over 1.2 million source images and carried out hundreds of full-film iterations to achieve cinema-grade 4K ultra-high-definition audiovisual standards.

Set in a distant future, mysterious symbols carved on Sanxingdui bronze relics hide binary codes far ahead of their era. Three thousand years later, super-intelligent AI dominates the globe. Human beings rely heavily on algorithms and fall into worldwide crisis. An archaeologist discovers that seven ancient symbols from Sanxingdui bronze artifacts hold the key to saving humanity. Centered on this cross-millennium adventure, the movie hyper-realistically recreates iconic cultural relics such as Bronze Sacred Tree, Bronze Standing Figure and Vertical-Eye Mask. It artistically reconstructs palaces and grand sacrificial ceremonies of ancient Shu capital and expands its vision to the cosmic future. AI functions both as core production tool and central thematic topic: as algorithms penetrate every corner of human society, how mankind preserves independent thinking and free will. Wisdom inherited from ancient civilization offers vital inspiration for future humanity.

The project previously made its appearance at Cannes Film Festival with an international concept trailer. Leveraging the globally recognizable cultural IP of Sanxingdui, the film explores innovative overseas communication paths for traditional Chinese culture through science-fiction storytelling.

Industry commentators point out that the theatrical release of Sanxingdui: Future Past integrates AI-created films into national regulatory and commercial screening system. AI technology helps cut high trial-and-error costs and shorten production cycles, transforming film production from labor-intensive model to creativity-oriented pattern. Nevertheless, this feature also proves that AI serves merely as a production tool. Human professionals remain irreplaceable for humanistic storytelling, historical research and aesthetic creation; human-AI collaboration represents the practical path toward industrialized AI filmmaking.

AI-generated film is one of four key business divisions of Bona Film Group. Besides this title, multiple AI feature projects including Off–Plan: Guanghan Operation and Chinese Ghost Stories: Rakshasa Seashore are in pipeline. Industry insiders believe this production will accumulate reusable digital assets, standardized workflows and compliance experience for Chinese AI theatrical films, acting as a key practical reference and kicking off a new era for domestic AI-powered cinema.